And [Joshua] commanded the people, “As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it” (Joshua 3:3).

He gives compelling incentives

. . . In order that you may know the way you shall go for you have not passed this way before (Joshua 3:4b).

Fear the Lord

That means respect

Yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2,000 cubits in length. Do not come near it (Joshua 3:4a).

That means repentance

Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you” (Joshua 3:5).

Foster the Legacy

For the children

And he said to the people of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22 then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.’ 23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over . . .” (Joshua 4:21-23a).

For the countries

So that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever (Joshua 4:24).

“The Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath” (Joshua 2:11b).

Is shown in works

“And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead” (James 2:25-26).

Reasoned faith

“For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan . . .” (Joshua 1:10a).

Is based on words about God

Is based on the works of God

Rewarded faith

Is given life

“But Joshua spared Rahab . . .” (Joshua 6:25a).

Is given a legacy

“And Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king” (Matthew 1:5-6

The Reubenites and Gadites, who had very large herds and flocks, saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were suitable for livestock. 2 So they came to Moses and . . . said, . . . 5 If we have found favor in your eyes,” they said, “let this land be given to your servants as our possession. Do not make us cross the Jordan” (Numbers 32:1-5).

It is costly

It is contagious

Second chance

. . . but all the men of valor among you shall pass over armed before your brothers and shall help them, until the Lord gives rest to your brothers as he has to you, and they also take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving them. Then you shall return to the land of your possession and shall possess it (Joshua 1:14b-15a).

For responsibilities

For reward

Serious caution

“But if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the Lord; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23).

Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them (Joshua 1:6).

Courage is commanded

Courage is contagious

Success requires commitment

Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success (Joshua 1:7-8).

To learn the Word of God

To live the Word of God

Success requires companionship

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go (Joshua 1:9).

A mulligan in golf is a second chance. It is usually granted after the first attempt is duffed. Wouldn’t it be great if life afforded us a second chance? Well, the good news of the gospel is that we can have a second chance.

Israel got a second chance to enter the Promised Land. Now, to be sure, they blew it the first time. God had rescued them from Egypt and brought them miraculously to the brink of the Promised Land. There they balked. They doubted and refused to go forward. That whole generation died in the wilderness. What should have been a couple weeks’ journey from Egypt to Israel turned into forty years of wandering. Finally, God brought them back to the Jordan. The ball is teed up. It’s their mulligan moment. God says,

Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel.

Thankfully, they had learned their lesson and this new generation arose and said “yes” to the Lord!

As we retrace the journey of the Israelites, it is an opportunity us to have a fresh start too. May He hear us say “yes” as He calls us to a new place of obedience in 2016!

Arise!

Arise

“Make the Most of Your Mulligan”

Joshua 1:1-5

Face the facts (v. 1-2a)

After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, “Moses my servant is dead . . .” (Joshua 1:1-2a).

Hard truth

Heartening truth

Face the future

Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses (Joshua 1:2b-3).

Partnership with God

Promises from God

Face the foes

No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you (Joshua 1:5).